Eating Disorders

Eating disorders stem from multiple factors. There are several different types of eating disorders and below is lsted some of the more common types that are medically diagnosed and treated. A person that has an eating disorder can do major damage to there overall physical health. We live in a society that tells us thin is attractive and we have created false social perceptions through the media and television. We all have a perception of our sele image and most of us have an idea of what we would like to look like. It's not a bad thing to have these perceptions to set goals for your physical health but the danger occurs when obsessive behaviors develop. These behaviors can be damaging to your emotional and physical state and lead to more serious problems than just eating. Below we have touched on the typical types of disorders. Feel free to educate yourself and become aware of signals and behaviors that could lead to more seroius problems with eating and self image.

Anorexia (anorexia nervosa)

What may start out as dieting can lead to an obsession of having the self induced ability to lose weight. An individual can use this power to over exercise or over indulge in taking diet pills. The obsession with losing weight is all of a sudden unconrtollable and seems psychologically impossible to break just like an addiction to alcohol and drugs. This is when the body is at greatest risk of more serious health effects. It is important to know the symptoms of anorexia to prevent yourself or someone you suspect has problem from harming themselves. Self induced starvation can lead to major physical health complicaitons and ultimately death if untreated.

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

Binge Eating Disorder is when an indivual uncontrollably goes on eating binges without regulating how much is eaten and how often eating occurs. This up and down cycle can cause multiple indigestional problems. Eating patterns should be regular and as consistent as possible to enjoy the benefits of normal eating. For example those with normal eating habits will often enjoy three main meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and usually around the same time of each day (morning, noon and night).

Bulimia (bulimia nervosa)

Another dangerous disorder is know as bulimia nervosa, or more commonly know as bulimia. This is when an individual indulges in binge eating and then forces themself to vomit excessively in an attempt to control weight. Other methods of control are excessive amounts of exercise and the over use of laxatives or dieting pills. Reagrdless of how it's done, Bulimia can be devastating to the physical health of the body and can lead to more seroius consequences of not treated properly. The binge eating is quite often triggered by feelings or emotions which make bulimia a dangerouos psychological addiction. Often these feelings include stress or depression triggered by a negative self perception of personal weight or body shape or even food in general.

Obesity and Overweight

On the opposite end of the eating disorder spectrum is obesity and overweightness. There are serious health effects that can occur with being overweight such as high blood pressure, risk of heart disease or heart attack, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and cancer. Obesity occurs when the amount of calories being consumed out weighs the number of calories being burned on a regular basis. Healthy eating habits include a well balanced diet, ample sleep and regular exercise.

For more information on eating disorders please visit the following sites. Each site has multiple resource links and educational material, videos, BMI calculators, nutrition tips and much more!